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Betty Newsinger
Betty Thatcher (16 February 1944 – 15 August 2011) was an English lyricist who wrote many of the lyrics for the progressive rock band Renaissance. Early life Betty Mary Newsinger was born in Great Titchfield Street, central London. She was taught to read newspapers at home, started conventional school at the age of eight, and became a fast and prolific reader. After passing the Eleven-plus exam, she won a scholarship to a grammar school, where she refused to take part in any examinations. After two years excelling in English and art, she transferred to a school that accepted difficult students. Career Thatcher's friend Liz Kellett introduced her to Kellett's school friend Jane Relf, the younger sister of ex- Yardbirds singer Keith Relf. When Keith and Jane formed Renaissance, they asked her to be the lyricist, Relf having read Thatcher's letters to Jane. When Betty moved to St Ives, Cornwall, she sent her lyrics from there to Jim McCarty who would write songs around them, incl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Westminster
Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Westminster Cathedral and much of the West End shopping and entertainment district. The name ( ang, Westmynstre) originated from the informal description of the abbey church and royal peculiar of St Peter's (Westminster Abbey), west of the City of London (until the English Reformation there was also an Eastminster, near the Tower of London, in the East End of London). The abbey's origins date from between the 7th and 10th centuries, but it rose to national prominence when rebuilt by Edward the Confessor in the 11th. Westminster has been the home of England's government since about 1200, and from 1707 the Government of the United Kingdom. In 1539, it became a city. Westminster is often used as a m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Titchfield Street
Great Titchfield Street is a street in the West End of London. It runs north from Oxford Street to Greenwell Street, just short of the busy A501 Marylebone Road and Euston Road. It lies within the informally designated London area of Fitzrovia. In administrative terms it is in the City of Westminster. It lies within their designated East Marylebone Conservation Area in the former Metropolitan Borough of St Marylebone. History Like the better known Portland Place and Great Portland Street which run parallel with it to the west, Great Titchfield Street was developed by the Dukes of Portland, who owned most of the eastern half of Marylebone in the 18th and 19th centuries. It appears half complete on the John Rocque map of 1746. At that time it only ran from Oxford Street to Riding House Street. In 1757, the New Road, now Marylebone Road, was laid out to provide a route around built-up London. This encouraged residential development in the area, with a regular grid of streets c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Song For All Seasons
''A Song for All Seasons'' is the eighth studio album by the English progressive rock band Renaissance, released in 1978. It marked the return of electric guitars to the band's music after several years of absence. " Northern Lights" from the album reached the top ten on the UK Singles Chart and is the band's only UK chart single. Overview A shortened recording of "Back Home Once Again" was used as the theme song for the short-lived 1977 British TV series ''The Paper Lads''. "She Is Love", sung by Jon Camp, was meant to be sung by Annie Haslam, but the orchestral backing track turned out to have been recorded in the wrong key for her. Drummer Terry Sullivan had his first songwriting credit with the band on the title track. He was responsible for the basic tune to the song's extended instrumental intro. This was based on a song he wrote on guitar in 1971. Expanded 2019 edition In 2019 Esoteric Recordings announced a re-mastered and 3 CD expanded edition of the album which w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Novella (Renaissance Album)
''Novella'' is the seventh studio album by the English progressive rock band Renaissance, released in 1977. Bassist Jon Camp began working as a lyricist for this album, making it the first Renaissance album since ''Illusion'' (1971) to include songs written entirely by the band members themselves. Background and recording For ''Novella'' Renaissance returned to De Lane Lea Studios, where they had recorded ''Ashes Are Burning'' and ''Turn of the Cards'', wanting to again work with the studio's engineer, Dick Plant. Though Renaissance are credited with producing the album by themselves, the band members have said that Plant essentially co-produced the album, as he did with ''Ashes Are Burning'' and ''Turn of the Cards''. With ''Novella'' bassist Jon Camp wrote lyrics for the group for the first time, usually with guitarist Michael Dunford collaborating with him on the music. Camp recalled, "Micky unfordused to come along with the sort of main body of the song and then I used to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scheherazade And Other Stories
''Scheherazade and Other Stories'' is the sixth studio album by the English progressive rock band Renaissance, released in 1975. Some critics consider it their best album, although others prefer earlier albums.Liner notes from the ''Tales of 1001 Nights'' compilations This is the first album in which Renaissance (Annie Haslam's version) did not use quotes from actual classical pieces and the first not to feature any songwriting credits from the original members. Contrary to popular belief, "Song of Scheherazade" is not based on Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's ''Scheherazade'', but does have a brief recurring motif that alludes to that work. History There is confusion over where the sections of "Song of Scheherazade" begin and end. This was caused by the fact that "Fanfare" and "The Betrayal" together sound like a single section, while "Festival Preparations" has two distinct parts of its own (4:00 and 1:11 in length). This confusion was reflected in the packaging and labels of original ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Turn Of The Cards
''Turn of the Cards'' is the fifth studio album by the English progressive rock band Renaissance, released in July 1974. It was the last Renaissance studio album to include excerpts from existing classical pieces. It was also the first album recorded by the group after Michael Dunford, who had written songs for their previous three albums, joined the group as an acoustic guitarist. In the UK, this was the first release on Miles Copeland's fledgling label, BTM Records (British Talent Managers). In 1977, after releasing a total of 10 albums, including two more by Renaissance (''Scheherazade and Other Stories'' and the double LP '' Live at Carnegie Hall''), the label folded due to bankruptcy. Cover art Hipgnosis, who had previously designed the covers to the band's albums ''Prologue'' and ''Ashes Are Burning'', designed the cover. After producing a storyboard of ideas, they visited the recording studio to get a feel for the music, then produced the final artwork. The castle in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ashes Are Burning
''Ashes Are Burning'' is the fourth studio album by the English progressive rock band Renaissance, released in 1973 (see 1973 in music). It was the first of several Renaissance albums to feature (on some songs) an orchestra playing along with the band. It was the band's first album to make the ''Billboard'' 200 album chart, peaking at No. 171. Background and recording With ''Ashes Are Burning'' Renaissance made a deliberate choice to head in a more acoustic direction, in order to accommodate their folk-influenced style and differentiate themselves from the many electric guitar-dominated bands on the scene. Because Renaissance were between guitarists at the time, bassist Jon Camp played most of the guitars on the album. Michael Dunford, who had been working with Renaissance in a composer-only role, also played acoustic guitar on a few tracks. He later rejoined the band, but only after ''Ashes Are Burning'' had been released, so he is accordingly listed as a guest musician. Most ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prologue (Renaissance Album)
''Prologue'' is the third studio album by the English progressive rock band Renaissance, released in October 1972. Overview In 1972, Renaissance's then-new management disbanded the then current line-up (one of several short-lived transitional line-ups), retaining only ex-The Gentle People singer Annie Haslam and former Rupert's People keyboard player John Tout to build a new band around. The new members added at this point were bassist Jon Camp, drummer Terence Sullivan and guitarist Mick Parsons. Shortly thereafter, Parsons died in a car accident. Electric guitarist Rob Hendry was brought in at the last minute to replace him for the recording sessions of June and July 1972, and left the band soon after the album was completed. Because ''Prologue'' was a new start for the band, with a line-up that now included none of the original members, it would frequently be referred to as their "first" album (for example, on the '' Live at Carnegie Hall'' album, both in a song intro and on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Tout
Renaissance are an English progressive rock band, best known for their 1978 UK top 10 hit "Northern Lights (song), Northern Lights" and progressive rock classics like "Carpet of the Sun", "Mother Russia (Renaissance song), Mother Russia", and "Ashes Are Burning". They developed a unique sound, combining a female Lead vocalist, lead vocal with a fusion of classical music, classical, folk music, folk, rock music, rock, and jazz influences. Characteristic elements of the Renaissance sound are Annie Haslam's wide vocal range, prominent piano accompaniment, orchestration, orchestral arrangements, vocal harmonies, acoustic guitar, bass guitar, synthesiser, and versatile drum work. The band created a significant following in the northeast United States in the 1970s, and that region remains their strongest fan base. The original line-up included two former members of the Yardbirds, Keith Relf and Jim McCarty, along with John Hawken, Louis Cennamo and Relf's sister Jane Relf. They intend ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Samwell-Smith
Paul Granville Samwell-Smith (born Paul Smith, 8 May 1943, in Richmond, Surrey, England) is an English musician and record producer. He was a founding member and the bassist of the 1960s English rock band the Yardbirds, which launched leading guitarists Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page to fame. As a youth, Samwell-Smith attended Hampton School with Yardbirds drummer Jim McCarty. While in the Yardbirds, he co-produced and engineered much of their music, working with record producers such as Mickie Most, Simon Napier-Bell and Giorgio Gomelsky. Samwell-Smith was a major contributor to the original tracks written by the Yardbirds during his tenure with the band. He left the group in June 1966 to pursue a career as a record producer. The Yardbirds In late May 1963, he formed the Yardbirds with Keith Relf, Anthony Topham, Chris Dreja, and Jim McCarty. During this period his primary instrument was a short-scale Epiphone Rivoli bass. He played on the UK albums, ''Five Live Yard ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Illusion (Renaissance Album)
''Illusion'' is the second studio album by the English progressive rock band Renaissance, released in 1971. It was originally released only in Germany and did not receive a wider release until 1973. It was first released in the UK in 1977, with a cover that had the original front and rear cover artwork swapped. Overview Following an American tour to support their first album, the band returned to the studio in the spring of 1970 to begin work on their second. The band recorded "Love Goes On", "Golden Thread", "Love Is All", and "Face of Yesterday" before they began to fall apart. Keith Relf and Jim McCarty were the first to leave, deciding to cease as performing members but remain involved with production and composition for the band. John Hawken recruited singer Terry Crowe and guitarist Michael Dunford (both from Hawken's previous band The Nashville Teens), as well as session drummer Terry Slade to replace Relf and McCarty. Louis Cennamo left shortly afterwards to join Colosse ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
St Ives, Cornwall
St Ives ( kw, Porth Ia, meaning "Ia of Cornwall, St Ia's cove") is a seaside town, civil parish and port in Cornwall, England. The town lies north of Penzance and west of Camborne on the coast of the Celtic Sea. In former times it was commercially dependent on fishing. The decline in fishing, however, caused a shift in commercial emphasis, and the town is now primarily a popular seaside resort, notably achieving the title of Best UK Seaside Town from the British Travel Awards in both 2010 and 2011. St Ives was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1639. St Ives has become renowned for its number of artists. It was named best seaside town of 2007 by ''The Guardian'' newspaper. History Early history The origin of St Ives is attributed in legend to the arrival of the Irish saint Ia of Cornwall, in the 5th century. The parish church bears her name, and the name St Ives derives from it. The Sloop Inn, which lies on the wharf was a fisherman's pub for many centuries and is dated to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
